The Australian government has today signaled that it will ‘table’ its response to the inquiry of the local video gaming development industry by the end of this year – a notable 586 day late.
The news follows pressure from the Australian Greens, with Senator Jordon Steele-John affirming that the local video games industry has put up with uncertainty from the government for too long.
In April last year, the inquiry into the video games development industry unanimously recommended ongoing investment and support.
Senator Steele-John questions why the Australian government has allowed such an amount of time to pass:
“Back at budget estimates in May, Senator Fifield, in response to questioning from my predecessor Scott Ludlam who has been a tireless champion for the Australian games industry, stated a finalised draft had been submitted to the government for consideration”
“That was 195 days ago– more than 6 months – so why has it taken the government so long?
Senator Steele-John affirms that the gaming industry needs to know whether the government “cares”:
“I can see why they [Australian government] might be terrified, given the inquiry also recommended the need for 21st century national broadband infrastructure, but six months is a long time in games development and it is a long time for the industry to wait on a response they’ve been told already exists”
“Game developers deserve to know whether this government cares about the future of their industry in Australia”.
[Provided To ChannelNews]
